HOULTON, Maine — Downtown Houlton has a new café to grab a cup of coffee or tasty treat, featuring products made in Maine.
The County Co-op and Farm Store Café, also known as “The Co-op” is in the first phase of its business plan. The Café part of the store opened Monday, July 28, and has been a hot spot for customers since then.
The second phase of the business will see the further establishment of the co-op side of the shop, eventually serving as a retail store featuring mostly local food, goods, and products as well as products from distributors such as Associated Buyers, Pioneer and United Natural Foods.
The anticipated opening of the full store is late fall 2014.
“The mission of the co-op is essentially to establish a member-owned and controlled retail outlet featuring mostly local food, products, essentials, and services that serve the needs of the members as well as the community,” said Meg Scott, head of the organization. “It will essentially look like a natural food store, with the added perk that area farms and producers will be celebrated and marketed heavily with their products comprising the bulk of the inventory. It will also feature a certified kitchen to serve local producers as well as for educational purposes.”
Opening a business of any sort involves plenty of hard work and effort as well as capital investment. The Co-op board of directors had a pretty good understanding that opening the full retail store could possibly involve more time than members and the general public might like to wait for.
Therefore, the group decided a few months ago, to rent space at 53 Main St. from proprietor, Sue Waite York. Kristie Taylor was brought on board as the café manager and the business has quickly taken off.
“The idea was brought forth that since the space at 53 Main previously was a bakery, why not utilize that resource and open early as a café and bake shop?” Scott said. “Sue had her antiques in the space and the agreement was that we share the space with Sue’s antiques until the full store opens in the fall, at which time Sue will move her antiques to another location and the full space will be used for shelving, equipment and products for the store.”
The café features coffee from Maine roasting company, Carrabassett Coffee Co.
“Customers really seem to enjoy the rich, bold flavor of the coffee and it has kept them coming back for more,” Scott said. “Customers are encouraged to sit down, hang out and enjoy each other. Many people have been meeting and getting together in our space, which makes us happy.”
Besides coffee, there are several different varieties of teas available, and other beverages including Houlton Farms Dairy lemonade, milk and chocolate milk, iced tea, raw fruit juices, smoothies and protein shakes.
There are several local, talented bakers who bake fresh bagels, breads, muffins, cinnamon buns, pies, squares, cookies and other goodies daily. In keeping with part of its mission, the café only features whole and natural products and does not carry items that have any artificial sweeteners, colors, or preservatives. In addition to the café and bakeshop, the County Co-op and Farm Store Café is carrying some local products from area producers. As space becomes available and the business continues to grow, plans are in the works to add more products to the store.
“So far, Phase 1 of the opening has gone smoothly,” Scott said. “This is not your average business where one or two people do the work to get it ready. This has been the work and effort of many people; board members, co-op members, and others too. We have been pleasantly surprised at the tremendous support from the community. It has been touching to see how much faith people have in our mission and believe in what we are doing. People have gone out of their way to come and support us and we are acquiring new members every day.
“There have been a few glitches as we are figuring everything out of course, but overall it has been a great success,” Scott said. “Please follow us on Facebook and stay tuned for Phase 2.”
Membership consists of buying a share in the business, and if the business makes a profit, members are eligible for a patronage dividend at the end of the fiscal year. Members also receive a monthly newsletter with free recipes and announcements of events, are eligible for free cooking classes, and once the store opens, they will receive specials, discounts, and perks. A full member share is a one time only payment (no annual fees) of $200. There are payment options as well so that the full amount does not have to be paid all at once.
Membership applications are available on their website at www.thecountycoop.com and can be sent to P.O. Box 1164, Houlton, ME 04730.
